The Dark Side of Social Cognition:
The Availability Heuristic, Self-Fulfilling Prophecies, and Expectancy-Congruent Memory in Relation to Social Stereotyping

Throughout history, the topic of how we think about others has been the subject of much attention by psychologists, philosophers, theologians, historians, and laypeople alike. Despite our best efforts in recent decades to create a diverse, egalitarian society, stereotypes still haunt every corner of American life. Though many theories and explanations exist, a common consensus in the realm of psychology is that cognitive processes lie at the root of this ubiquitous conundrum. These processes are often automatic, nonconscious, and even unreflective of our true beliefs (Chen & Bargh, 1997). In this paper, I will discuss three such cognitive processes—the availability heuristic, self-fulfilling prophecies, and expectancy-congruent memory—in terms of how they relate to social stereotyping. By understanding......

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Title: Social Cognition
Approximate Word Count: 3056
Approximate Pages: 13 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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